Science Response 2013/001

Update of Stock Status Indicators for Northern Shrimp in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence

Context

The Northern Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) fishery in the Gulf of St.Lawrence is conducted by trawlers in four shrimp fishing areas (SFA): Estuary (SFA 12), Sept-Îles (SFA 10), Anticosti (SFA 9) and Esquiman (SFA 8) (Figure 1). Shrimp fishing is regulated by a number of management measures, including the setting of total allowable catches (TAC). TAC-based management limits fishing to protect the reproductive potential of the population. The essential elements for the establishment of a precautionary approach were adopted in 2012. Reference points were determined and guidelines were established to determine harvest based on the main stock status indicator and its position in relation to the stock status classification zones (healthy, cautious and critical). The harvest guideliunes are based on a constant exploitation rate when the stock is in the healthy zone. The harvest rate decreases in the cautious zone as far as to the critical zone, where the exploitation rate is stable at a value that is four times lower than that of the healthy zone. Once the harvest is established, decision rules are applied to determine the TAC.

The 2012 TACs were set based on these decision rules. This update presents the information necessary for the determination of the 2013 TACs. Estimates of the main stock status indicator are produced based on 2012 data and a harvest for 2013 is determined from the application of the guidelines. This Science Response is a result of the special Science Response process that was conducted at the Maurice Lamontagne Institute on January 18, 2013.

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